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The reindeer-herding Sami people of northern Norway, Sweden, and Finland are the only indigenous population to be recognized and protected in Scandinavia. Collectively herding around two thousand reindeer, the Sami people have nomadically inhabited Fenno-Scandinavia for over 10,000 years. However, the combined forces of climate change, technology, increased industrial activity, and land-loss have led to a large shift in the traditional Sami diet, lifestyle, and mental health status. Kelsey discusses the impacts of these changes on the bodily and psychosocial health of Finno-Ugric Sami and ways in which these changes may shape their future.

Kelsey Frisk is a fourth-year undergraduate Honors student with the Interdepartmental Studies major. She studies global health with a strong interest in the health and human rights of indigenous populations. She recently received a Stanley Award for International Research to study perceptions of health among the Sami people in northern Sweden from January-July 2014. For more information on the Foreign Relations Council visit their website.